Life on Britain's most expensive street: Residents and businesses in London's Buckingham Gate reveal what it's like to have the King as a neighbour after study found properties in the area have the UK's highest average asking price of £9.63m

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Residents and and business owners have revealed what life is like on Britain's most expensive street, with an average £9.63million asking price - and where King Charles is their neighbour.

Buckingham Gate in central London was this week named as having the nation's highest average asking price of £9,633,333, according to online property firm Rightmove.

The next highest average asking price was found in Vicarage Gate in Holland Park in west London, at £6,332,000.

The road - which runs from Buckingham Palace to busy Victoria Street in the heart of Westminster - features a mixture of houses, flats, embassies, shops and cafés.

Retiree David Rodgers, 86, who has owned his home on Buckingham Gate for the past 25 years, said he was surprised by the news that the street is nation's most expensive.

Buckingham Gate in central London was this week named as having the nation's highest average asking price of £9,633,333

'It's very quiet at night': Retiree David Rodgers, 86, who has owned his home on Buckingham Gate for the past 25 years, was surprised by the news that the street is nation's most expensive

'Great for business': Prasanna Callaghan, 47, owns Crumpets Café, which he says is the closest eatery to Buckingham Palace

Mr Rodgers said: 'I didn't expect that. I would have assumed it would have been somewhere in Chelsea, or Knightsbridge, or even in the City.

READ MORE: Britain's most expensive streets: Interactive map reveals roads where properties have been listed sale with the highest price tag this year...how well-off are YOUR neighbours?

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'But I'm very happy here. It's easy to get everywhere, particularly convenient when coming home after the theatre.

'It's very quiet at night, there's no traffic. And there's a new Marks and Spencer around the corner, which is great.

'Things are also better since they started closing the road for the Changing of the Guard.

'Now, we don't have 20 tourist buses here like we used to, so that's an improvement.'

Prasanna Callaghan owns Crumpets Café, which he says is the closest eatery to Buckingham Palace and the location is 'great for business'.

He said he was surprised to hear Buckingham Gate was the most expensive place to buy a home - as the street seemed to have a few drawbacks from a residential perspective.

Mr Callaghan, 47, said: 'Even though it's great for business, I wouldn't personally want to live here. There are crowds all the time.

'Unless you're only spending a couple of months a year here, which is what I think a lot of the residents do.

'Surely no one local is going to be able to afford to buy here.'

However, he said the location was perfect for a café, explaining: 'We're the best location because we are so close to Buckingham Palace. This is the heart of whatever is happening in London.

'Sometimes, we don't reap all the rewards as the road is closed for anything huge, like the Queen's funeral or King's coronation, but we have our regulars.

'We get a lot of business from the soldiers from Wellington Barracks just around the back, and people who work in the area. Plus of course the steady stream of tourists.'

Buckingham Gate is home to Prime Dry Cleaners, which has been in the family of owner Qasim Ziea, 32, since 2007

Buckingham Gate in Central London residents have King Charles III as one of their neighbours

A view of St James' Court on Buckingham Gate, the most expensive street in the UK

Buckingham Gate - which runs from Buckingham Palace to busy Victoria Street in the heart of Westminster - features a mixture of houses, flats, embassies, shops and cafés

One estate agent thinks Buckingham Gate's number one spot may have been skewed by a recent £45million listing (pictured)

A living room in a property on Buckingham Gate - which is on the market for £45million

Buckingham Gate is home to Prime Dry Cleaners, which has been in the family of owner Qasim Ziea, 32, since 2007.

Mr Ziea said Buckingham Gate was 'a perfect location business-wise'. 'It's so central and close to everything famous in London.

'In terms of clients, we get people who work at the palace, like butlers, or soldiers who live at Wellington Barracks.

'We also get some well-off customers from the nearby hotels, and we've had a few famous clients, such as Rishi Sunak back when he was Chancellor.'

Mr Ziea added that his family are 'very happy' about the skyrocketing prices - and they are often asked to sell.

He said: 'It was expensive at the time, but prices have obviously more than doubled since then.

'We often have people approaching us to buy the building - the most recent wanted to build flats.

'But it's our business and we love it, so we're hanging on to it.'

Rightmove said sales searches for London neighbourhoods including Mayfair, St John's Wood and Holland Park have increased this year, compared with a year ago.

The asking price of houses in Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge has been around £4.9 million according to Rightmove's data

Outside London, Old Avenue in Weybridge, Surrey, had the highest average asking price for properties in 2024 so far, at £2,633,333 

The price of homes in The Ridgeway, Cuffley, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was £2,289,286

Swithland Lane, Rothley, Leicester, £2,024,000

Looking at homes to rent, the highest typical asking rents were found in Albion Street in Bayswater, central London, at £20,857 per month. This was followed by Pavilion Road in Knightsbridge, central London, where renters will need an average of £15,251 per month for a new let.

Outside London, Rightmove found the highest average asking rent was in London Road in Ascot, Berkshire, at £6,831 per month. Manor Road in Chigwell, Essex, had average asking rents of £4,311.

One estate agent thinks Buckingham Gate's number one spot may have been skewed by a recent £45million listing.

The nine-bedroom, Grade II listed property has been listed by agents Knightsbridge Prime Property on Rightmove and it certainly looks worthy of having the monarch as a neighbour.

It is advertised as an ambassadorial residence, and features several bedrooms for staff. 

The 19th Century white Georgian stucco fronted house spans across a huge 15,845sqft internally and even has a six-person lift to take you between its seven floors.

Luxuries that come with the property include a cinema room, two private terraces, an internal courtyard, a leisure complex on the basement floor which includes a gym, a swimming pool, a sauna and a massage room.

The agent, who asked to remain anonymous, said: 'It was a surprise to hear Buckingham Gate was the most expensive road, as I definitely would have guessed it was somewhere around Knightsbridge.

'It just depends what you want to spend your money on. Some people would rather somewhere that has less tourists, maybe a few more restaurants and supermarkets.

'But it's definitely a nice dinner party anecdote, isn't it? "I live next door to the King!" '

Outside London, Old Avenue in Weybridge, Surrey, had the highest average asking price for properties in 2024 so far, at £2,633,333, the property website found.

Here are the streets with the highest average asking prices this year so far, according to Rightmove (all are in London):

1. Buckingham Gate, Westminster, £9,633,333
2. Vicarage Gate, Holland Park, £6,332,000
3. Park Road, St John's Wood, £5,814,285
4. St John's Wood Road, Maida Vale, £5,389,444
5. Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, £4,834,500

This luxury home on Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, has three reception rooms, four bedrooms and an additional studio flat

Homes on this street have some of the highest asking prices in the country at £4,834,500

And here are the streets with the highest property price tags in 2024 so far outside London, according to Rightmove:

1. Old Avenue, Weybridge, Surrey, £2,633,333
2. The Ridgeway, Cuffley, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, £2,289,286
3. Manor Road, Chigwell, Essex, £2,219,444
4. Swithland Lane, Rothley, Leicester, £2,024,000
5. Norsey Road, Billericay, Essex, £1,800,000

This semi-detached four-bedroom home is on Manor Road in Chigwell, Essex

The road is one of the streets with the highest property price tags in 2024 so far outside London

Here are the streets with the most expensive monthly rents on average this year so far, according to Rightmove (all are in London):

1. Albion Street, Bayswater, £20,857
2. Pavilion Road, Knightsbridge, £15,251
3. Duke Street, Mayfair, £14,441
4. Prince of Wales Terrace, Kensington, £13,734
5. Cheval Place, Knightsbridge, £13,611

And here are the streets with the most expensive monthly rents on average in 2024 so far outside London, according to Rightmove:

1. London Road, Ascot, Berkshire, £6,831
2. Manor Road, Chigwell, Essex, £4,311
3. Deansgate, Manchester, £3,766
4. Holloway Drive, Virginia Water, Surrey, £2,986
5. Ingrave Road, Brentwood, Essex, £2,898

This three-bed mansion is located on London Road in Ascot, Berkshire

The home is on the street with the most expensive monthly rents on average in 2024 so far outside London, according to Rightmove, at a whopping £6,831

Here are the top three streets in Scotland which have commanded the highest typical property price tags this year so far, with the postal area, according to Rightmove:

1. Simpson Loan, Edinburgh EH3, £534,167
2. Clarkston Road, Glasgow G44, £308,125
3. Hyndland Road, Glasgow G12, £287,500

Here are the top three streets in Wales which have commanded the highest typical property price tags this year so far, with the postal area, according to Rightmove:

1. Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11, £442,500
2. Christchurch Road, Newport NP19, £346,875
3. Inverness Place, Cardiff CF24, £328,571